Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Twin and Adoption Studies
As I studied chapter 3 for our first exam, one of the areas I was most interested in was the area of twin and adoption studies. These two were very interesting to me because I have 4 month old fraternal twin nieces and my best friend was adopted at birth. When it comes to the twin study, I was very surprised to find out that fraternal twins are no more alike in genetic make up than any two siblings. I always figured in one way or another they were more alike, but not to the point of identical twins. I do believe it will be interesting to watch the girls grow up in the same environment throughout their lives and how they turn out. The results of adoption studies weren't as surprising to me however. The statistics for adopted children is that the correlation of similarities between the children and biological parents are the same as that with the adopted parents. Although my friend has never met his biological parents, I have seen him grow in his adoptive parents' home. He is very much alike them in almost all ways other than his looks. Both these studies were very interesting for me because of how closely I have watched and will watch these situations take place.
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Yes, fraternal twins share the same number of genes as siblings BUT they've also shared pretty much the same prenatal environment for about 9 months and they are being raised at the same time when the same age. These commonalities would render them quite a bit more alike than ordinary siblings. Even though siblings are raised in the same family in what appears to be the same environment, over a few years parents change (for example, become less anxious about raising children), income level might change (for better or worse), families might move, peer groups can vary, etc. Consequently, siblings who might just be a few years apart may really grow up in"different" environments. Finally, depending on the dimensions being measured, adopted children may be more like their biological parents or their adoptive parents.
ReplyDeleteI have experienced parents and family environments changing over the years for different siblings. I have five siblings from the ages of 31-42, and they are all shocked at how laid back my parents are now, being in their 60s for most of my highschool/college life. The stories I hear about my parents and how they used to be compared to how they are with me are amazing. I also grew up in highschool pretty much as an only child with retired parents. The differences are amazing from what my siblings tell me, and although we were all raised in the same house by the same parents, we were raised very differently.
ReplyDeleteMy best friend is also adopted and she really is not like her adoptive parents at all. They do have similar personality traits, however her interests and hobbies are absolutely nothing that her parents are interested in or were interested in as children. My friend is a big theatre geek and she's very muscially gifted and we always kind of joked that these talents came from nowhere since they were not inherited from her parents. However a few months ago, we had found her adoption papers which had biographies of her biological parents and what their interests were at the time of their giving her up for adoption. Her biological mother was in the drama club at school and her biological father was in every band club that his high school had to offer. I had been thinking about this while learning about the adoptive studies and whether children who were adopted are more like their biological or adoptive parents, and it leaves me without really knowing which to believe.
ReplyDeleteI found the information revealed in the book about twin/adoption studies to correlate with what I personally have noticed in the sets of fraternal twins I know as well as the identical ones I know. Both sets of twins are male and were raised in the same households, by their respective families. The identical twins, from their physical appearances to personalities, interests and behavior, could not be more alike. They show a resemblance to their other siblings, yet not as great as the resemblance they portray to their twin. However, the fraternal twins I know could not look more different; many can't even believe their part of the same family. I never knew that fraternal twins were no more alike in their genetic make up before reading this chapter, but this definitely helps explain how the differences in the fraternal twins are possible. I also know a set of triplets (two are male, one is female) who all look alike, yet the two boys are quite different from the girl. The two boys are more reserved while the girl is more outgoing. I'm now wondering if gender is a factor in such studies.
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